Liturgy

Loving God, we gather to center
ourselves on you, to reconnect to that
purpose that we have been called to.

Together we feel the resonance vibrate a
little stronger. We find comfort and peace when
we are close to you. Apart from you we crash
against our limits, our biases, and our ego.

We have failed the innocent. We see
our justice crumbling before our eyes.
Dust in our hands, ash in our mouths.

With broken hearts we cry out to you.
With angry words we strike each other.
Death is like a wildfire rolling through drylands.

Lord, let your justice roll down like waters
and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Quell and temper us, these broken vessels.

We come before you, Triune God,
Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

(Naomi Jackson)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from a reading in Philippians 2: 5-8.

5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself…
And being found in human form,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.

The Good News of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 9.27.20 – Humbling Ourselves

What’s on the inside of the masks we’re wearing?

How might our humble stories be a doorway to our authentic calling?

Benediction

Lift up your eyes to receive the benediction.

Brittle shard of glass, what are you on your own?
Come be bound to another and another.
Do not hold on to the pieces of you that are cut away.

The great Artist is molding you into something
that once did not exist. Do not fear the heat
that forges you. The fire that burns also binds,
and from it we find our strength.

The beauty and imperfections, the cracks
and colors that once were separate; together
they create a story that can only be told once.

May the light of Christ fill into the empty spaces and
pour through the thin veil of our skin. May the end
of us be the beginning of something more beautiful.

We ask and consider all this in the name
of the Father,
of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

(Naomi Jackson)

[Photo by Cole Lalomia @ Flickr]